A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Lin Peishan blushed slightly but did not flinch. She said crisply, "Yes, his name is Chen Zhongyu. He is well-educated and even kind-hearted. This time, he donated some books and money to the disaster relief fund, even though he himself had suffered from the disaster."

Gui'er, who was listening nearby, finally understood that Lin Peishan had told her parents about her crush, Chen Zhongyu.

She was secretly amazed. She had always thought that women of this era were mostly reserved and demure. For Lin Peishan to openly praise her sweetheart in front of her parents and even specially invite them to "meet" him required immense courage.

As they were talking, Chen Zhongyu came over to greet Gui'er, who quickly said, "Brother Chen, Peishan just praised you to the skies, saying you donated a lot of money!"

A hint of embarrassment crossed Chen Zhongyu's face. When he looked at Lin Peishan, his eyes were filled with unease. He said in a low voice, "I'm just doing my bit."

Lin's father took the initiative to step forward and shake hands with him: "Xiao Chen, right? Pei Shan often mentions you, saying that you write well, have a warm heart, and have a promising future."

Chen Zhongyu quickly replied, "Uncle, you flatter me. It's all what I should do."

Gui'er saw that Lin Peishan's eyes were full of joy when she looked at Chen Zhongyu, while Chen Zhongyu always seemed a little reserved. However, as an outsider, it was not appropriate for her to interfere in this matter.

"Gui'er, you're here! I was just looking for you. Come on, let me introduce you to the wealthy ladies who have business dealings with our family." Tong Yujun suddenly came over to greet her, and Gui'er then realized that the two of them had attended the same charity gala.

"Why would I need to know them?" Gui'er quickly declined.

“Gui’er, even now, you still have the temperament of a child. The war has turned out like this, and your father-in-law and your brother are not even alive. You are an orphan with no one to rely on. The most important thing is to find a support, that is, to find a husband.”

As she spoke, Tong Yujun glanced around and said, "I was able to speak directly to you today because none of your servants came. We all guessed that your brother must have given you a considerable sum of money so that you could live a life of comfort in Hong Kong. But now you see that you have more and more servants. They come from the underworld and are not to be trifled with. If they rebel one day, you will lose your money and possessions, which would be one thing, but you might risk your life. Don't blame me for being suspicious; this is also Xi Lun's idea. You did stay in the Song family for a while, and his elder brother valued you highly. Even just for his brother's sake, he will take care of you."

Gui'er smiled and said, "It's not that bad. If that day really comes, I'll set them free. I'm not saying your plans are bad, but look at my current status and background. I'm just an orphan with no one to rely on. What can anyone get from marrying me? They'll probably just have to put up with it because of you and Mr. Song's reputation."

Tong Yujun was stunned for a moment after hearing this before sighing and saying, "I didn't expect you to be so clear-headed. So what are you going to do? Do you have any plans?"

Gui'er smiled and said, "I've always had a goal: to become a doctor. As long as I can complete my studies, I can support myself. Even if I lose all my wealth, I can still survive. Isn't that great?"

Tong Yujun smiled and said, "That's right. You've always been very independent and have a strong sense of self, so I won't force you."

After that, Gui'er continued to go to and from school every day. She went to the Xingbao newspaper again. Before going, she specially bought some freshly baked pastries at the pastry shop and gave a few pieces to each editor, hoping that they would take good care of her. Of course, most people didn't care about such small things. However, the female editor said that out of sympathy for women, she gave Gui'er several more drafts of the advertising copy. However, she directly said that when she received the manuscript fee, she would have to give Gui'er one yuan of the three yuan manuscript fee as a kickback. Although Gui'er was unwilling, she wanted to earn money, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and agree.

She said to Chen Zhongyu, "Those guys at the newspaper are really heartless."

Seeing that she really wanted to make money, Chen Zhongyu wanted to introduce her to editors from other magazines. Chen Zhongyu was now a bookstore owner, and his store was doing quite well. He subscribed to newspapers from several newspapers, and the sales were all good. Some of the editors from those newspapers wanted to put their books in his store to sell, and they were willing to do him a favor.

Lin Peishan still liked Chen Zhongyu as always, and would go to the bookstore whenever she had free time. Sometimes Gui'er was not available, so she would go by herself. As a result, many regular customers, and even people from publishing houses and newspapers, knew that the bookstore owner, Mr. Chen, had a female college student as a suitor, but Chen Zhongyu never dared to express his feelings.

That day, as school was about to end, Lin Peishan invited Gui'er to sit at a coffee shop near the school.

Gui'er has been busy with her studies lately, spending her time either at school or writing articles. She wanted to relax a bit, so she readily agreed.

The two arrived at a café located at a busy street corner, its facade adorned with floor-to-ceiling windows and potted palm trees adorning the windowsill. Pushing open the door, jazz music wafted from a gramophone, mingling with the aroma of coffee and the clinking of ice cubes against the glass. Waiters in white shirts and black bow ties moved about, serving "Yuenyeung"—half coffee, half milk tea—to the round tables by the window, the rims of the cups glistening with condensation. In the booths against the wall, several compradors from foreign firms were discussing business in a mix of Chinese and English, cigars between their fingers; on the other side, female students sat around a table, ordering lemon soda, flipping through a newly arrived copy of the magazine *The Young Companion*, their laughter ringing out. Behind the counter, the manager worked on an abacus, his ledger recording "coffee one cent and fifty cents a cup," "French toast two slices one cent," occasionally glancing up to greet regular customers.

Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief; she hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.

"You seem quite tired lately. Are you still busy doing part-time jobs? Is your family not giving you enough money to study?"

"Yes, I do, but as you can see, the situation is unclear right now. I'm worried about what might happen, so I'll earn whatever I can, as long as I can hold on until I graduate." Gui'er didn't tell Lin Peishan about her family situation in detail, so the other woman assumed she was the adopted daughter of a wealthy man in mainland China.

“Yes, that’s true. How is your family? I heard that the fighting is very fierce in the mainland right now. Several of my classmates have lost contact with their families and have lost their source of income. Some of them want to go back to find their families. Others are looking for work everywhere to finish their studies. It’s not easy for them,” Lin Peishan said.

"I'm alright. Although I don't have any information from home, some fellow villagers who came from the mainland mentioned that things aren't going well back home. However, if we're careful with money, we can still make ends meet." Gui'er didn't want to tell others about her true family situation. One reason was that she was afraid of being pitied. Another was that she was afraid that some people with ulterior motives would find out and use it for their own purposes.